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William Patrick "Parry" O'Brien (January 28, 1932 – April 21, 2007) was an American shot put champion. He competed in four consecutive Summer Olympics where he won two gold medals ( 1952, 1956) and one silver medal ( 1960 ). In his last Olympic competition ( 1964) he placed fourth.
Parry O’Brien was an American shot-putter who developed a style that revolutionized the event. He held the world record from 1953 to 1959, increasing the distance from 18 metres (59 feet 34 inches) to 19.30 metres (63 feet 4 inches) in that period.
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William Parry O’Brien was the colossus of the shot put. The first man to breach the 60ft barrier, he transformed his event with the revolutionary technique that bore his name – the O’Brien Glide – and with the holistic mental and physical approach he developed towards preparation and competition. He competed in four successive Olympic Games, claimi...
An international class shot putting talent soon emerged, harnessed by a ruthless competitive instinct and a forensically analytical mind. After losing at the 1951 Fresno Relays (to Otis Chandler, who later became publisher of the Los Angeles Times), O’Brien was unable to sleep when he returned home to Santa Monica. At 3am, in a vacant lot next door...
In O’Brien’s case, it was the opposite. As he explained in a Timemagazine cover story: “It’s an application of physics, which says that the longer you apply pressure or force to an inanimate object, the farther it will go. My style is geared to allow me to apply force for the longest time before releasing the shot.” O’Brien’s glide technique was to...
Over the next four years, O’Brien constructed a shield of invincibility. He studied physics, aerodynamics, Eastern religions, yoga, and self-hypnosis – anything that might help his throwing. He listened to tape-recorded motivational messages in his sleep, hoping the subliminal messages would become lodged in his subconscious. In competitions, he wo...
Apr 25, 2007 · Parry O’Brien was the most significant individual in the history of shot putting, who developed the glide technique and won two Olympic gold medals. He also set multiple World records, including 19.69 in 1966, and was a top discus thrower.
Apr 23, 2007 · Parry O’Brien, who revolutionized shot-putting technique, won three Olympic medals (two gold) and became the first man to reach 59, 60, 61, 62 and 63 feet, died Saturday during a masters...
Learn more about Parry O'Brien's accomplishments, career highlights, and biography
Apr 21, 2007 · Although his records have now been surpassed, Parry O’Brien is, by the standards of his contemporaries, the greatest shotputter of all time. Indoors and outdoors he won a total of 17 AAU titles and between July 1952 and June 1956 he ran up a winning streak of 116 consecutive victories.
